Tips for using solar system align – Celestron CGEM 1100 User Manual
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One-Star Alignment works much the same way as Two-Star Align but uses
only a single star in the sky for alignment. This method of alignment is not as
accurate as the two-star alignment and is recommended only for telescopes
that are permanently and accurately polar aligned.
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Solar System Align is designed to provide excellent tracking and GoTo
performance by using solar system objects (Sun, Moon and planets) to align
the telescope with the sky. Solar System Align is a great way to align your
telescope for daytime viewing as well as a quick way to align the telescope for
nighttime observing.
Never look directly at the sun with the naked eye or with a telescope
(unless you have the proper solar filter). Permanent and irreversible
eye damage may result.
1.
Select Solar System Align from the alignment options.
2.
The SELECT OBJECT message will appear in the top row of the
display. Use the Up and Down scroll keys (10) to select the daytime
object (planet, moon or sun) you wish to align. Press ENTER.
3.
Use the direction arrow buttons to carefully center the object in the finderscope. Press ENTER when centered.
4.
Then, center the object in the eyepiece and press ALIGN.
Once in position, the telescope will model the sky based on this information and display Alignment Successful.
Tips for Using Solar System Align
For safety purposes, the Sun will not be displayed in any of the hand control’s customer object lists unless it is
enabled from the Utilities Menu. To allow the Sun to be displayed on the hand control, do the following:
1.
Press the UNDO button until the display reads “CGEM Ready”
2.
Press the MENU button and use the Up and Down keys to select the Utilities menu. Press ENTER.
3.
Use the UP and Down keys to select Sun Menu and press ENTER.
4.
Press ENTER again to allow the Sun to appear on the hand control display.
The Sun can be removed from the display by using the same procedure as above.
To improve the telescope pointing accuracy, you can use the Re-Align feature as described below.
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Quick-Align uses all the date and time information entered at startup to align the telescope. However, instead of slewing to the
alignment stars for centering and alignment, the telescope bypasses this step and simply models the sky based on the
information given. This will allow you to roughly slew to the coordinates of bright objects like the moon and planets and
gives the telescope the information needed to track objects in any part of the sky (depending on accuracy of polar alignment).
Quick-Align is not meant to be used to accurately locate small or faint deep-sky objects or to track objects accurately for
photography.
To use Quick-Align, simply select Quick Align from the alignment options and press ENTER. The telescope will
automatically use the entered date/time parameters to align itself with the sky and display Alignment Successful.
NOTE: Once a Quick-Align has been done, you can use the Re-alignment feature (see below) to improve your telescopes
pointing accuracy.
Figure 3-3
The Meridian is an imaginary line in the sky
that starts at the North celestial pole and
ends at the South celestial pole and passes
through the zenith. If you are facing South,
the meridian starts from your Southern
horizon and passes directly overhead to the
North celestial pole.